LivePerson, a provider of digital engagement solutions, today announced the results of its second annual Connecting with Customers research, a comprehensive global study examining trends in online behavior and consumer expectations. The survey revealed that 69% of consumers are more likely to be loyal to a brand that provides live, human assistance at critical moments, and 82% indicate their perception of a brand improves when live chat is available.

Most significantly, the research shows the window to win or lose brand loyalty is a mere 76 seconds. Consumers expect access to real-time help within 76 seconds, and if they don't get it, they choose the slower, more frustrating option of email or abandon the site entirely, according to the research....

The survey revealed that 69% of consumers are more likely to be loyal to a brand that provides live, human assistance at critical moments, and 82% indicate their perception of a brand improves when live chat is available.

Many people ask me what results business get when they focus on storytelling. Well, here are some impressive stats for you!

The focus of this article are the results that happen when businesses create content about their business that they then share with others. But we know what makes content so popular -- stories!!

When ever a company creates articles, blog posts, videos, infographics, SlideShare programs, etc., these are the places to share stories. In fact, if your content isn't a story, it's been shown to not do well.

A few of the corporate examples listed here used stories. Some of the others don't mention stories outright. But enough has been written by content creation/marketing gurus to know that storytelling is the key to success here.

If you craft great content -- and share your business stories and the stories of your customers in the process -- you too will probably be able achieve the results discussed here.

James Carson on SmartInsights outlines the value of adopting a story to be more effective in selling your brand, products or services. He specifically points to a specific story plot generally known as the "hero's journey".

This is a story pattern that can be found in tens of popular stories around

the world.

From Homer's Odissey to Star Wars you can see the same story pattern at work.

You "can use this kind of story arc in a content marketing strategy through switching the protagonist with the customer, and then offer mentorship through the content, and the promise of reward (or quest completion) from the product."

I include this is the ServingExperience collection because a company that exists, follows and thrives upon the ServingExperience way will have a story, and stories that are sincere and true (essential for them to work for a company) and these will also (need to) be truly embraced from CEO to kitchen towel supply supervisor - then and only then does story, brand and reputation float on the high seas of the marketplace.

Author Gini Dietrich writing for the Spin Sucks blog gets it right with this post. Companies churn out tons of content, call it storytelling, and it usually misses the mark.

Her list of 5 critical parts every story needs will help fix this if companies are willing to put in the effort.

The only piece I would add is to augment tip 5 -- The Protagonist. Dietrich mentions that you, your company, your product, or your service is the protagonist. But it is also essential to add your customer in as the hero. Otherwise you'll be doing a lot of personal chest thumping about yourself or your offerings and that will only take you so far.

So gather the insights from this article for better storytelling, include my recommendation, and you will soon be far ahead of your competitors.

Archetypes as Behaviors An archetype is essentially 'a universally understood symbol, term, or pattern of behavior, which serves as a prototype upon which others are copied, patterned, or emulated.' Jung talked about archetypes as universal,...

Titled Archetyes, The Hero's Journey & The Telling of Stories by Gunther Sonnenfeld, this article is all about using the Hero's Journey to understand your customer's experiences.

How ingenious! And a critical perspective. It's hard to figure out how customers experience a business -- from discovery to purchase -- so any models that can help us are welcome.

Sonnenfeld reminds us that storytelling is participatory and this figures into the customer experience equation. Hallelujah. He then goes on to share with us how to design the customer experience based on both participation and the Hero's Journey model.

It all makes perfect sense, and definitely brings clarity to the topic of story and customer experiences. Enjoy!

Today's post is one example of this collaborative co-construction of the content of this blog. I was sent this wonderful graphic from one of my readers and I found it very relevant to what we have been talking about in the digital storytelling section here in Educational Technology and Mobile Learning. The infographic below has been designed by CMA and features the 7 steps to the perfect story.

"We are in the business of sales but we don't start with a pitch. we start with a conversation. We try to develop story engines. We ask: What story are you trying to tell? We want to launch a thousand ships together.”

"Something extraordinary is something that touches consumers and tells a story, it's not just technology alone that builds a brand"

Cecelia Wogan-Silva, director of creative agency development at Google

Social media is a daily part of many lives today. Some people can’t help but check their social media networks when they wake up, lunch breaks, after work or any other chance they get. How can you gain massive media exposure?

I think this video is very accurate. Today, we are bombarded by information about what we should buy, what we should do, etc. How much of this information do we actually retain? Barley nothing! For something to be retained, it has to be rememberable; what's rememberable? STORIES! The video explains stories are rememberable because they are meaningful. The Internet can so easily simplify information to market products, which ends up having so much information about so many different products all the time. If we take the time to explain a story behind a product when marketing it, I think it will be more profitable. STORIES are the new successful marketing strategy in this world filled with noise and information.

Sharing your scoops to your social media accounts is a must to distribute your curated content. Not only will it drive traffic and leads through your content, but it will help show your expertise with your followers.

Integrating your curated content to your website or blog will allow you to increase your website visitors’ engagement, boost SEO and acquire new visitors. By redirecting your social media traffic to your website, Scoop.it will also help you generate more qualified traffic and leads from your curation work.

Distributing your curated content through a newsletter is a great way to nurture and engage your email subscribers will developing your traffic and visibility.
Creating engaging newsletters with your curated content is really easy.